The round robin session held last week, makes the headlines for this report in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter bowls club, after an event held to raise money for the BBC Children in Need appeal totalled over £333 during the afternoon.

This was a fantastic amount raised by the 41 members in attendance and will be boosted to £350 by the club. A special thanks go to those who contributed cakes etc on the day.

Those who attended were separated into three groups, with the winners being Steve Parker, Steve Kelly and Andy Sykes; also, Paul Callister, James Teare and Philippa Taylor; along with the pairing of Elaine Moore and Mark Kelly.

No prize money on this occasion as all prize money went to this worthwhile cause; the club will hold another charity event on December 21 when the J&M Lee memorial drawn doubles, for which entries are now open, will be held in aid of the RNLI.

Moving on to the league action from last weekend, the first afternoon was held in atrocious wet and windy conditions, whilst the following day took place in much better weather.

There were one or two positional changes behind the leaders as a consequence of the results over both days with Seven-Up swapping places with Louie’s Angels.

Angels who were second, took on third placed Outsiders in the first clash on the cards, but they lost out by 92 to 109, which saw totals well below average for the two teams.

Castletown Corkers struggled in the conditions and were not helped by the fact they were a player short when they were beaten by Govags who themselves dropped just four chalks.

The four teams went back into action with both games going pretty much to form – Outsiders winning 119 to 70 against Corkers and Angels recorded a 38-point margin success against Govags.

Results for Saturday, December 9: Louie’s Angels 92 (2), Outsiders 109 (4); Castletown Corkers 85 (1), Govags 122 (5); Outsiders 119 (5), Castletown Corkers 70 (1); Govags 84 (1), Louie’s Angels 122 (5).

Parkers kicked-off Sunday’s programme with the season’s sixth maximum, recorded against bottom side Castletown Cannons, who are having their own personal battle with their stablemates.

Also playing were fifth placed Seven-Up and they were given a tough game by Bowl Rollers before taking victory by just nine chalks.

Unfortunately, things didn’t get any better for southern outfit Cannons, who now sit four points behind Corkers at the foot of the table after defeat at the hands of Seven-Up.

Just two points separated the sides at the conclusion of the final fixture on the list, with victory going in favour of Bowl Rollers over Parkers.

Guns for Hire sit top of the pile on an average of 119.8, with the four sides directly behind them separated by just 0.6 of a point – Seven-Up are on 114.9; Outsiders 114.7, with Mooragh Lakers and Louie’s Angels both on 114.3.

Results for Sunday, December 10: Parkers 126 (6), Castletown Cannons 84 (0); Seven-Up 112 (4), Bowl Rollers 103 (2); Castletown Cannons 72 (0), Seven-Up 126 (6); Bowl Rollers 111 (3), Parkers 109 (3).

League leaders Guns for Hire extended their advantage during the one set of fixtures held last weekend in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter Bowls League, recording two 5-1 victories to maintain their unbeaten start.

The first outing on the list saw Castletown Cannons up against Bits n Bobs and it was the latter who romped home with a forty-plus points margin.

In action at the same time, Bowl Rollers had the task of taking on the leaders and they did manage to win one game in an 89 to 121 defeat.

Perhaps the biggest surprise in the next fixture was that Guns for Hire never recorded a maximum against Castletown Cannons, who did well to win the doubles; however, the southerners slipped into bottom spot below their stablemates Castletown Corkers.

The final battle saw Bowl Rollers recover from their earlier loss to maintain their league position just ahead of opponents Bits n Bobs courtesy of a 116 to 98 points victory.

Results for Sunday, November 3: Castletown Cannons 80 (1), Bits n Bobs 121 (5); Bowl Rollers 89 (1), Guns for Hire 121 (5); Guns for Hire 122 (5), Castletown Cannons 76 (1); Bits n Bobs 98 (2), Bowl Rollers 116 (4).

Even at this early stage only four players have a maximum number of wins; some remain unbeaten but have missed games for their team for one reason or another.

Leading the way with eight from eight played is Dido Kelly (Guns for Hire), followed on four are Jenny Moore and Frank Watson (both Outsiders), along with Gordon Corrin (Govags).

Two round robin sessions took place prior to the league games and at the midweek one held on Wednesday, 42 players took part in three groups.

Just three chalks separated five pairs in the doubles with Steve Kelly and Sid McKnight emerging as the winners.

Things were more open in the two triples, with Irene Goodall, Gordon Corrin and Sue Gawne taking one group, and Dave Faragher, Elaine Moore and Kevin Firth winning the other.

Saturday’s session had a gang of just 16 compete in one group, with the pairing of Steve Parker and Lynda Cadamy taking the spoils.

The average points gap between the top and fifth placed teams was shrunk from 13.5 to just 5.7 on Saturday afternoon in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter Bowls League in a session where the sides involved played the same opponents twice.

First on the list were leaders Guns for Hire and a resurgent Bits n Bobs outfit who were clearly looking to build on their good start to this campaign.

Looking back to last season, this session had two maximum wins for G4H already on the cards, but even though they lost both outings Bits were far from whitewashed.

They took four games from their opponents over the two fixtures, totalling 193 points along the way, which was not good news for the top of the table team who saw their average drop from 122 to 119.2.

Fifth placed Seven-Up were also in action, along with Parkers who were down in ninth and yet to find their form.

It turned out to be a tough afternoon for the lower placed team; they only managed to win one game and a total of 179 points, which saw them slip down another position as a consequence.

Seven-Up on the other hand dropped just five chalks over the afternoon and in turn closed that margin between themselves and the leaders.

Results for Saturday, October 26: Bits n Bobs 89 (2), Guns for Hire 108 (4); Parkers 90 (0), Seven-Up 126 (6); Guns for Hire 119 (4), Bits n Bobs 104 (2); Seven-Up 121 (5), Parkers 89 (1).

Sunday’s participants included last season’s top two teams and they went head to head in the afternoon’s opener, which ended with the closest result over both days.

I think it is fair to say that neither team played at their best, however Outsiders came out on top by just three points in a fairly low scoring battle with Mooragh Lakers.

Another side struggling with their form are Erin Porters and they suffered two heavy defeats; firstly, at the hands of western rivals Govags who were making only their second appearance of the campaign.

Then things didn’t get any easier for Porters as they could only manage 68 points when they came up against Outsiders and slipped two places down the table.

The final contest between Mooragh Lakers and Govags ended all-square on games, however Lakers dropped nine chalks and a position down to fourth in the standings; whilst the westerners moved up to eighth.

Results for Sunday, October 27: Outsiders 108 (3), Mooragh Lakers 105 (3); Govags 113 (4), Erin Porters 88 (2); Erin Porters 68 (0), Outsiders 126 (6); Mooragh Lakers 117 (3), Govags 95 (3).

The midweek round robin group had another glorious afternoon weather-wise and the 45 entrants were once again separated into three sections of triples.

Shining through at the top of each gang were – Derek Allen, Pat Lenton and Trevor Barker; Steve Parker, Ken Karran and Doug Allan; also, Marg Tasker, Kevin Firth and Carol Kaye.

Taking second in their respective groups were Dave Faragher, Gill Morgan and Peter Curtis; Alec Taylor, Sue Gawne and Mark Kelly; Bernie McPhee, Alan Moore and Caroline Corlett.

With all league fixtures up to date, this Saturday’s free day will be used as a round robin session.

Nine-time champions Guns for Hire head the pack after the opening three weekends of the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter Bowls League and are now the only unbeaten team. 

They almost recorded their second maximum, but missed out by one chalk, in a five games to one success over Erin Porters. 

Mooragh Lakers meanwhile began their session with a comfortable games win, but they dropped eight points when Bits n Bobs triumphed in the doubles. 

The top two at the start of play next battled out a draw on games, however Guns for Hire took the bragging rights with a five-point winning margin over Lakers to maintain their impressive start. 

Finally, Bits n Bobs proved their big win on the opening day was not a one-off, when they were victorious in a close contest against Erin Porters and took their average back above 100 points. 

Results for Saturday, October 19: Bits n Bobs 76 (1), Mooragh Lakers 118 (5); Guns for Hire 125 (5), Erin Porters 88 (1); Mooragh Lakers 107 (3), Guns for Hire 112 (3); Erin Porters 103 (2), Bits n Bobs 109 (4). 

Sunday’s gang had the better of the weekend weather for a change and the session saw the season’s fourth maximum scoreline recorded. 

Louie’s Angels followed up the previous Sunday’s full-house with a similar result against Castletown Cannons, allowing their opponents a total of just 72 points. 

Also in action were Castletown Corkers, but they suffered the same fate as their stablemates at the hands of southern rivals Erin Porters. 

Angels finished their afternoon with a comfortable win over Bowl Rollers and scored enough points to move into second spot on average behind leaders Guns for Hire. 

The Castletown teams completed Sunday’s programme and it was Cannons who triumphed with a three-point winning margin in a fixture that had four juniors playing. 

Results for Sunday, October 20: Louie’s Angels 126 (6), Castletown Cannons 72 (0); Castletown Corkers 101 (2), Bowl Rollers 117 (4); Bowl Rollers 98 (2), Louie’s Angels 118 (4); Castletown Cannons 102 (3), Castletown Corkers 99 (3). 

The club’s midweek round robin attracted an entry of 45, which was split into three equal groups of triples. 

Romping to victory in the black jack group were Bernie McPhee, Derek Allen and Mark Kelly; with second place going to Steph Swift, Alec Taylor and Joy Stephens. 

The margin between the top two was a bit closer in the red jacks – the winning trio being Frances Radcliffe, George Brew and Terry Bates, and in the runners-up spot were Sid McKnight, Judy Kelly and Cliff Clague. 

Just one point separated the leaders in the final gang, with Elaine Moore, Steve Kelly and Sue Gawne just getting the better of Maureen Hamilton, Andy Morgan and Kevin Firth.